Intel Processor Upgrade: Gift Cards Will Unlock Dormant Features

When I first heard of Intel’s new way to offer an upgrade to its CPU users I was a little surprised, but now that I have taken a closer look – it now makes perfect sense. The chipmaker will make it possible for users to purchase a gift card, which in turn will unlock certain features that lay dormant on a chip that you already have installed in your computer.

Once you have the gift card you just have to download an application from Intel, this will then unlock certain features in the processor. The new program from Intel is called “down-the-wire hardware upgrades”.

Lawrence Latif from The Inquirer explains that for just $50 you can gain access to Hyperthreading or Level 2 cache. This will certainly have mixed reactions, but it is no secret that most users will not like the idea of having the true potential of their CPU locked.

The gift cards will only be used for low-end Intel processors, such as the Core i3 chip. Do you agree with this latest move, or do you think it is another way for Intel to make money by doing nothing?